Hughen | Starkweather

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Visual artists Hughen/Starkweather create abstract artworks about specific topics and locations

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Hughen | Starkweather

Water Systems Mural

Hughen/Starkweather was commissioned to create a site-specific, large scale artwork for the interior of a building that overlooks San Francisco Bay. The resulting hand-painted, 4 story mural references engineered and natural water systems that deliver clean water to the greater Bay Area.

The abundance and scarcity of water that is a part of California’s boom and bust ecosystem has shaped the economy, culture, and landscape of this state. In order to support its population of 39+ million people, California has engineered one of the world’s most extensive systems of dams, reservoirs, pumps, canals, and aqueducts. This artwork references past, present, and imagined future shorelines, riparian systems, and pipelines. These fragile and aging structures are at risk as the increasing pressures of climate change threaten to have catastrophic impacts on the systems that deliver drinking water to millions of people.

Recognizable landforms in the artwork include the Sacramento River Delta, Lake Tahoe, and the San Francisco Bay. Pipelines and engineered structures emerging from those bodies of water hint at the connections and complexities in these interwoven systems.

Invaluable support from the knowledgable crew at New Bohemia and the entire team at Meta Open Arts. Photos by Anthony Roberts.

A short video about the project can be seen here.

Water Systems Mural

Hughen/Starkweather was commissioned to create a site-specific, large scale artwork for the interior of a building that overlooks San Francisco Bay. The resulting hand-painted, 4 story mural references engineered and natural water systems that deliver clean water to the greater Bay Area.

The abundance and scarcity of water that is a part of California’s boom and bust ecosystem has shaped the economy, culture, and landscape of this state. In order to support its population of 39+ million people, California has engineered one of the world’s most extensive systems of dams, reservoirs, pumps, canals, and aqueducts. This artwork references past, present, and imagined future shorelines, riparian systems, and pipelines. These fragile and aging structures are at risk as the increasing pressures of climate change threaten to have catastrophic impacts on the systems that deliver drinking water to millions of people.

Recognizable landforms in the artwork include the Sacramento River Delta, Lake Tahoe, and the San Francisco Bay. Pipelines and engineered structures emerging from those bodies of water hint at the connections and complexities in these interwoven systems.

Invaluable support from the knowledgable crew at New Bohemia and the entire team at Meta Open Arts. Photos by Anthony Roberts.

A short video about the project can be seen here.

The artwork responds directly to the exposed pipes, wires, and other infrastructure of the building.

Drilling into underground aquifers accounts for a large percentage of California’s drinking water — referenced here as the mural spills onto the concrete floors.

Drilling into underground aquifers accounts for a large percentage of California’s drinking water — referenced here as the mural spills onto the concrete floors.